(some of the stupid things I do)

Experiments with fish oil… and a little ramble

Fish oil is The Wonder Supplement. It nourishes your cells, it helps you absorb vitamins, it improves your skin, it elevates your mood, it increases your metabolism, decreases joint pain, improves rate of recovery, it practically cures cancer. I’ve experimented with it on and off for a few years and never noticed a difference until this week.

They say you should get high quality liquid, because the gel caps are all rancid, and of course you want good quality so it’s environmentally sustainable, and so you’re not eating too much mercury and whatever other pollutants the fish have been exposed to.

This week I tried el cheapo garden variety gel caps from the supermarket (just checking the label, they do say they’re from ‘sustainable free range fish’). Actually A found them lying around while cleaning up the other day, so they’re probably not just rancid, but they might’ve mutated into something else.

My skin is has been really dry over the past year or so, and absolutely nothing has helped. Sun screen, zinc, cacao butter, exfoliating, hydrating more, more fats, more fish, more fish oil… nothing. And now it’s winter, my skin is flaking off more than ever. And I know that EFAs have to help this, that’s why I keep trying the fish oil.

Well finally I’ve found fish oil that works! Yep, the gel caps from the supermarket! I’ve been taking 2 x 7 caps (1000mg) and within a day I could see improvement in my skin. Within 2 days it’s looking almost normal. Today I’ve increased to 2 x 8 caps and hoping my skin will improve even more by the end of the week. Still have to fix my dry scalp and hair. Might even up it to 2 x 10 caps for a bit and see how that goes. I am wondering if I will even start to see improvements in my stupid ankle or back.

Funny how all the health gurus say to take particular brands, or types of supplements, and that the cheapest things absolutely positively won’t work… but in my case the cheapest has been then best.

So many things are stupid about the fitness industry… supplementation, courses to renew CEC/PDP points, the way some people market themselves, MLM (pyramid scheme) product sales, internet folk who come across as gurus but have never trained more than a handful of people… I have been distancing myself from all that stuff. I rarely bother with the whole marketing thing now ***Breaking news*** Just now while typing this I got a call from a MLM nutrition company person ARGGGGH!! ….. so even while trying to get away from all the crap in the industry, I still get bombarded with it! I see myself as a loner in the fitness industry. I do my own thing. I still see what else is going on, but health and fitness isn’t rocket science. Generally speaking, the more simple, the better.

Anyway… my philosophy is to go with what works. Use science to help decide what to do, and then use practise to determine what works. Sometimes the science doesn’t help you as an individual. Sometimes, what everyone else says, doesn’t apply to you. Above all, go with what works. Sometimes you need to try a few things different ways. Either way, cheap fish oil gel caps work for me. They might not work for you.